El Cajon
The manager of a home for developmentally disabled adults where three residents died in a fire pleaded innocent Wednesday to three counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Nayoma Jeannette Raleigh, 40, had to be helped into court by a deputy marshal because she has difficulty walking. Her attorney, Don LeVine, said she had injured herself while rescuing residents from the Feb. 6 blaze at the Linda Turman Home in El Cajon.
Raleigh is accused of having turned off the home’s fire alarm before the fire.
Minutes after her arraignment, Raleigh had to be taken to a hospital by paramedics after she complained of breathing difficulties related to asthma.
The three killed were Pietra Carrao, 47; Patty Melton, 33, and Mark Buis, 33. Buis’ wife, Debbie, 33, remains hospitalized at UC San Diego Medical Center.
David Allen Giles, 19, a resident of the facility, is charged with setting the fire and with three counts of murder. He faces a preliminary hearing April 15 and is being held in County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
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